A FAMILY who are members of Northallerton Bowling Club are laying to rest the myth that lawn bowls is just for people of a certain age.

Mum Cressida Fordy 51, daughter Amica 17, and 22-year-old son Ethan are certainly proof that it’s a sport for all ages.

Amica joined the club in 2013 when she was just nine, having been introduced to bowling by her granddad who subsequently coached her. She showed great potential and the following year was asked to play for the club in the local JSW league.

Success in winning club and Darlington League competitions soon followed leading to county competitions for Yorkshire and national competitions at Leamington Spa, the home of English bowls. Amica earned her county badge in 2019 at the age of 15 and was successful at the trials for the Bowls England Academy in late 2019. Unfortunately due to Covid this was cancelled in 2020-2021 but the bowling future looks great for Amica.

Ethan joined the club in 2016 at 17 and he too has mastered the skills of lawn bowling very quickly, playing in JSW and NYBL matches for Northallerton. He was also nominated for Yorkshire county competitions and has gone on to play in national competitions at Leamington Spa. Ethan also earned his county badge and won Yorkshire Junior player of the year in 2019.

A spokesperson for Northallerton Bowling Club said: "Lawn Bowling is a great sport to be involved in, you get to meet lots of new people from different clubs within the county of Yorkshire and also get to make friends from other counties too.

"Do you think this would be something that you would be interested in? Any age can play and if you would like to come and meet our juniors and have a go at playing bowls, please get in contact with Northallerton Bowling Club and leave a message on 01609 772576 or email northallertonbowls@talktalk.net